Scandal on the ‘Bachelor’
‘Bachelor’ babe: I was blackout drunk
The production of ABC’s “Bachelor in Paradise” has been halted after one of the male participants had a sexual encounter with a female contestant who may have been too drunk to consent — and the crew let the sordid act play out for the cameras, according to reports.
Contestant Corinne Olympios claims that she can barely recall what happened when she and DeMario Jackson got naked and fooled around in a Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, swimming pool, TMZ reported.
With the cameras rolling — and crew members and other contestants congregating poolside — the pair took off their clothes and began “rubbing and touching” each other, according to TMZ.
Olympios says she was drunk to the point of blacking out and learned of her encounter with Jackson only when castmates told her about it the next day, according to the Daily Mail.
She told pals that she would have never done such a thing because she had a boyfriend, TMZ said. A field producer for the show who was “uncomfortable” with what happened during the incident filed a complaint with Warner Bros., and the filming for the ABC series was halted Sunday, TMZ said. “We have suspended production, and we are conducting a thorough investigation of these allegations,” the studio said in a statement to The Post on Monday. “Once the investigation is complete, we will take appropriate responsive action.”
Olympios has hired a lawyer to handle the matter, TMZ said.
Meanwhile, Jackson is saying that he recalls the entire act and that Olympios was fully engaged and participating equally, according to TMZ.
He told friends that he and Olympios got along well the day after the encounter and that he didn’t know there was anything wrong until he was told by the executive producer that another producer had lodged a complaint, the Web site said.
TMZ also reported that its sources said Olympios appeared to be lucid and fully engaged in the encounter based on the tape.
An unidentified contestant told People magazine: “People are pissed, and not just at DeMario. We’re pissed that this whole thing happened.
“They could have seen that she was drinking too much and that he was taking advantage,” the contestant said.
“They could have stopped this before it got this far. But they decided to let it go . . . So I’m angry at the show, and everyone else is, too.”
The fourth season of “Bachelor in Paradise” was set to premiere Aug. 8. The show brings back losing contestants from past seasons of both “The Bachelor’’ and “The Bachelorette’’ and throws them together.